CHICAGO, (Reuters) – A firm owned by Chinese-born  U.S. financier Kenny Huang and by China’s Adrian Cheng, a  member of one of the world’s richest families, said yesterday  it has signed a long-term agreement to run China’s National  Basketball League.

Terms of the deal with QSL Sports Ltd were not disclosed,  other than that the company will take a stake in the NBL, but  it marks the first time a private company will manage a pro  sports league in China.

“This is the first time private enterprises will be able to  partake at the highest level of the management and operations  of a Chinese professional sports league,” Huang said in a  statement. “This is a significant page in the history of  Chinese professional sports.”

The NBL, whose sponsors include Chinese sporting goods and  apparel company Li Ning Co Ltd <2331.HK>, opens its season on  July 18.

Interest in investing in Chinese basketball is high because  of its fan base. An estimated 300 million people — a total  about equal to the U.S. population — play basketball in  China.

The National Basketball Association formed a joint venture  with sports and entertainment group AEG in October 2008 to  build at least a dozen “NBA-style” arenas in major cities  throughout greater China. In January 2008, the U.S. sports  league formed NBA China, a venture that could evolve into an  NBA-affiliated league.

Huang, 46, is awaiting NBA approval for the proposed  purchase of a minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers by a  group he leads that includes majority investor and Chinese  businessman Albert Hung. Last year, Huang became the first  foreign owner of a Chinese Basketball League club, when he  bought the Jilin Northeast Tigers.